A widowed mother with financial woes comes to the aid of a bill collector who crashes his car in a snowstorm.

Julia Stonecypher is a widow trying to raise two girls on her own. Just before Christmas, she loses her job as an accountant. Already in desperate straits trying to pay off loans and medical bills associated with her dead husband, the last person she wants to see is Brian Harding, vice president on the bank holding the mortgage on her mountain home. He tells her she'll have to vacate after Christmas for non-payment of loans. He arrived from the city at the start of a winter storm. When he tries to return, he slides off the snow-slickened road and receives a slight concussion. Julia hears the crash and rushes to his assistance. He is not a gracious patient, but at the storm forces him to stay in their cabin for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, the two girls, a stable full of talkative animals and Julia's grit win him over. For the first time in his adult life, he's having fun, not just working. In fact, Emily Rose, the younger daughter, is sure he is the legendary Christmas Stranger.—Garon Smith